Friday, July 10, 2009

Our Portuguese correspondent Afonso Henriques reports on a serious incident that occurred last weekend in the Portuguese city of Amadora. He included this introductory note:

This is the gravest of all the episodes, and happened last Sunday, the 5th of July. I really think this one deserves special attention. It was actually so severe that all the National TV channels opened their prime time news with it. There’s little to comment about it. All broadcasts indicated that the perpetrators were Africans, and Africans are the majority of the inhabitants in the area in question, a no-go zone.

This is a translation SIC 20:00 (Prime Time) National News, “Nightly News with Clara de Souza” on July 5th:

Clara de Souza:

Good evening. Two police officers were shot today in Amadora after being called to an incident in the neighborhood of Santa Filomena. The shooters are at large.

Elements of the security forces make searches in the houses of the neighborhood, in an attempt to find the two shooters of the shotgun blasts that injured two police officers, one in the chest, another in the neck. A few minutes after 3 pm elements of the PSP (Public Security Police) were called to an incident in the neighborhood Casal das Brancas in Amadora. When they made contact with the assailants, the police officers were greeted with shots. Minutes later came reinforcements, minutes after that came the ambulances that drove the injured officers to the hospital. The neighborhood was immediately sealed off by the police. Then, police officers saw individuals with masks who fired shotguns yet again before running away. Both the neighborhoods of Casal das Brancas and the contiguous Santa Filomena are now being patrolled by the police. The frightened inhabitants came into the streets saying that in the last months it’s even harder to live here due to the rise of violence. But to the video cameras, only silence, because the fear of reprisals is real.

The police patrols in the neighborhood, Carla, are still going at this time?

Carla, the reporter:

Patrolling is still going at this time and in force. Now the Judiciary Police (PJ) just arrived, Clara. We can see them up there close to the police car that was targeted during the afternoon by the shooters. Two police officers were injured, two police officers who were near here were then called by the PSP station of Amadora to come to this place. The police station received a call around the 3 pm reporting that a robbery was about to take place, an attempt at robbing a goldsmith in this area, and the two officers came to the place. Surprised by the shooters, they were confronted with shotguns. José Mendes from the Association of Police Unions (ASP), how are the injured officers? One of them is in a worse condition?

José Mendes from the ASP:

Yes, the indication I have at this moment is that one of the officers is worse than the other. I hope they can recover as fast as possible, and that situations like this one do not happen again, really. Because… please say…

Carla:

Just to end this reasoning, one of the officers is in danger of losing an eye.

José Mendes :

I also have that indication, unfortunately one of the officers may effectively lose one of his eyes. Possibly. It does not mean that this is effectively true. I hope it will not happen.

Carla:

I know you can’t give us much in the way of details because this is under judicial secrecy, but do you have any indication of how the robbery took place, how the police officers were surprised?

José Mendes :

No, my lady…

Carla:

How were they shot?

José Mendes :

I cannot give you those indications. First because I don’t have them and even if I had them I would not divulge them. It is a case that is under judicial secrecy and we respect it, me more than all the others…

Carla:

Is this a problematic neighborhood [no-go-zone]?

José Mendes:

It is one of the problematic neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the government is not listening to what the Association of Police Unions (ASP) has alerted them to, so that, in reality, the agents of authority or the crimes committed against the agents of authority are not punished, nor the criminals are not punished in reality as a consequence of what they’ve been doing.

Carla:

Thank you very much, and I hope your colleagues get better.

José Mendes:

Thank you.

Carla:

According to what the note of the Association of Police Unions to the government says, I remember that one of the officers is in a worse situation. The information we received, this according to José Mendes, the officer may lose an eye. The two officers were shot from behind when they were coming to this place. The neighborhood we see in front of us is a social neighborhood with hundreds of people, a neighborhood considered problematic, as we heard José Mendes say. It is reported that there are various daily robberies here in the area. This afternoon, around 3pm the PSP station in Amadora received this call, the officers went to the place and were surprised by robbers. They were armed, fired shotguns and now the cordon around the neighborhood continues, with entry and exit being registered, are being recorded by the police. No one is allowed to enter the neighborhood and it’s not easy to get out. We don’t know how long this neighborhood will be sealed off. It’s a normal cordon, it’s a normal operation, according to what the PSP has told us, in order to try to find the perpetrators of the shootings of this afternoon.

A translation of a TVI video in which a witness is interviewed:- - - - - - - - -

Witness:

Look, I think it was about 4 pm, more or less. When I was there at the window and heard the first shot. Immediately after, in less than a second or two, followed six or seven shots. That’s when I looked in that direction, to the top of that avenue where those policemen were by then, and I saw a stopped bus, a police car stopped at the side, and two black males — that’s what I saw; listen, I saw them, I didn’t see anybody else — who ran away across that rise.

Then, I went to the place, and I saw one of the officers, officer Sousa, lying on the floor. He was on the floor, he had been injured with to shotgun shots… pellets, you know, it’s not a bullet in itself but it is pellets… And the other officer was also sitting there covered with blood…

Reporter:

Conscious?

Witness:

Conscious, conscious but, he was trying to remain calm and with two colleagues next to him telling him not to fall asleep, which is fundamental, right? I was assisting for a while until the ambulances arrived.

Reporter:

For what you understood, there was a response from the authorities?

Witness:

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes there was. There was at least — I calculate — there was a response of one or two shots, what led me to believe that they were able to shoot back.

Afonso adds this postscript:

The oldest police officer was 25 years old, the other 23 and one of them will most likely lose an eye — and thus, most likely, the job as well. It really, really seems to be an ambush.

Very sweet. Takes one back to the days of chivalry and universal manners. I assume that is the equivalent of "No Maam" here. Otherwise that would be a bigger story then the murder. Male reporter demeans female anchor!

Firstly, Baron, thanks. But "All broadcasts indicated that the perpetrators were Africans, and Africans are the majority of the inhabitants in the area in question, a no-go zone."

It was my poor english that suggested it but it didn't happen.Only one of the three National Channels - TVI - suggested through a witness that the perpetrators were black males.

But everyone knows that Santa Filomena is a Sub-Saharan gueto. And those that do not know that know that the municipality of Amadora is some 30 to 50% black. The schools there are interesting:Elementary Schools: 45% whitePreparatory Schools: 70% whiteSomewhat Good Public High School: 90% whiteSomewhat bad Public High Schools: 60% whiteTheatre and Cinema Faculty: 95% white

These are my estimates.The other channels just showed images of the neighbourhoods that were all majority black.

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TB, "The problem in a nut shell. They will pay dearly for this in the long run!"

I'll try to show you what the government did that the policeman is reffering to.

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Spackle,

Não, minha senhora = No, my lady in a literal sense.

Yes, it's used as frequently as No Maam in your place but it is more powerfull and has all the power of a "No, my lady".It only doesn't automatically puts you in a position that is inferior to the "lady" - as I believe a "my lady" would do in English.

Here, it just shows that you think the "lady" should be more respected just for being a "lady". And that's rather polite.

And here, if we're not talking of Shock Police, the police officiers are very polite. They may be speaking to you in a very agressive tone or being assholes but the words that come from their mouths are very polite and even touch "chivalry" don't matter what.

I remember for instance one police telling a boy from New Zeeland who couldn't speak Portuguese that he had to carry is passport always. This with the most polite and "chivalry" filled words. This although the police officier's tone was like he wanted to beat the guy and that he could easily be nice and simply say what was going on.

Policemen here may show you the finger and punch you while in duty (they will then probabily lose their jobs) but they will talk to you with the most polite words.

TB and the five other guys who are interested: The present Socialist goverment made some alterations in our penal code in 2007. Here is what the police officiers are referring to:This information comes fom here and is a quote of a relatively old article of the Newspaper Correio da Manhã:

Some higlights about what the police is refering to. Remember, this is fruit of the recent (2007) penal code alterations made by the current Socialist government:

"IT IS NOW FORBBIDEN TO ARREST AGRESSORS

WITH THIS ALTERATIONS OF THE PENAL CODE, THE AGRESSIONS AGAINST THE AUTHOROTY (POLICE) ARE TO BE PUNISHED WITH UP TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISION. HOWEVER, AN INDIVIDUAL THAT NON-FATALLY ATTACKS A POLICE OFFICIER CANNOT BE DETAINED, RECIEVING ONLY A NOTIFICATION TO PRESENT HIMSELF TO COURT. THE SAME HAPPENS WITH THE DRIVERS WHO TRY TO PASS OVER POLICE OFFICIERS. “THIS GIVES TO THE AGRESSORS A FEELING OF IMPUNITY THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE RISE OF ATTACKS AGAINST POLICE OFFICIERS”, SAID TO THE CORREIO DA MANHÃ PAULO RODRIGUES, PRESIDENT OF THE PORTUGUESE ASSOCIATION OF POLICIAL UNIONS / PSP (PUBLIC SECURITY POLICE) OFFICIER"

This is the gravest. That article reveals the stories of some people who were set free by these new penal code alterations. Here are some (the paper goes into greater detail):

- A 17 years old who killed his six years old def and mentally retarded son-in-law who couldn't speak while raping him. He raped him for three months and with big objects as well. He also didn't show any regrets.

- An whole gang of Spaniards who robbed gas stations. One of the Spaniards shot dead the chief of the Portuguese Police of the Southern city of Lagos with a shotgun.

- A retired military man of the National Republican Guard who lived in the countryside and killed at least three pretty young girls who were his neighbours and knew him well (like if he was their uncle). The first he killed was almost twenty years earlier than the last one. He was seen as a "very respected member of the community" and "everybody in the village knew and liked uncle Costa".

- Two suspects of qualified murder.

- Various drug dealers

- Various rapists

- Three men convicted to 10, 12 and 14 years in jail for various robberies and rapes in the Sintra line in the Greater Lisbon Area

- A man convicted to 12 years in jail for pedophilia

- Various pedophiles. (How can I say this without being arrested? Let's say that I believe that the majority of Socialist militants have nothing to due with pedophilia)*

According to the same article of Correio da Manhã:

"115 prisioners were set free in the first day of the aplication of the new penal code, in Saturday, 15th of September"

"Preventive arrest is only possible when the crimes commited amount to more than five years of jail time"

"MARIA JOSÉ MORGADO (a Marxist/Communist public pressecutor who is pratically taken as the best and most "fair" pressecutor of Portugal, like Javier Solana in Spain. In her youth she was an active member of the Revolutionary Communists and was even connected to terrorist marxist groups. In a recent documentary about women in the Portuguese justice, the four higher ranking Portuguese women in justice were all ex-Communists but one who was a Communist supporter and is of Angolan extraction): “The new penal code legal terms are not realistic for the investigation concerning economic criminality”"

"CÂNDIDA ALMEIDA:(The new penal code) “cannot protect the interests of a democratic society.”"

*A man who I respect a lot, the Professor António Balbino Caldeira, who runs the blog "Portugal Profundo" (Deep Portugal), a counter-system blog with vast readership and exceptionally well fundamented blog posts...This blog posts about the upper echelons of Portuguese power. It does not left no one safe.He explores incredibly well the connectios between the Socialist Party, the European Union, the Free-Masonry, Judges and the Bankers who make virtually all power in Portugal.

He revelled some of the connections between the Socialist Party Members and the Masonry with pedophile nets who targeted poor children.He went to a court for that. Against him testified high ranking judges, the Socialist Mayor of Lisbon, various highest ranking personalities of the Socialist parties, Leaders of the Masonic Lodges, and even Mário Soares, ex-Prime Minister, ex-President, the driving force behind the Portuguese accession to the E.U. and the first Communist to became a Socialist and thus the man grabed the power after the revolution. He's also the most powerfull figure of the Socialist Party.